As the CEE region continues to establish itself as a key player in the global technology landscape, 2023 has seen an influx of investment that has fostered the development of regional startups and businesses. However, the year also posed challenges in securing funding and startups had to adapt their strategies, and the region faced the absence of a registered unicorn.
Despite these obstacles, however, there have been notable exceptions, with some outlier countries managing to secure large investment rounds to fuel their growth initiatives.
In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the most significant fundraisings that have shaped the CEE business landscape and its ecosystems throughout the year.
From innovative startups in cybersecurity and AI to established players in biotechnology and big data, these fundraising rounds showcase the dynamism and potential of the CEE region, while highlighting its ability to attract substantial investments and fuel the next wave. technological advances.
R.Power Renewable Energies
Last round : €150 million
Country: Poland
Scene: Round the table
Founders: Przemek Pieta, Tomasz Sek, Jakub Charaszkiewicz
Vertical: Energy
About: R.Power Renewable Energies is one of the fastest growing large solar energy companies in Europe. The company is actively involved in the development, construction, maintenance and independent production of green energy via photovoltaic power plants, thereby contributing to a clean environment and emission-free development in several countries.
LucidLink
Last round: $75 million
Country: Bulgaria/USA
Scene: Series C
Founders: George Dochev, Peter Thomson
Vertical: Online storage
About: American-Bulgarian startup LucidLink is a storage collaboration platform for connecting creative teams working on shared datasets. In November 2023, LucidLink raised $75 million in Series C funding, in what was the largest funding round for Bulgaria in 2023 and one of the largest in CEE. The round is led by US investment firm Brighton Park Capital, with significant existing investors including Headline, Baseline Ventures and Adobe Ventures.
Causality
Last round: $60 million
Country: Greece
Scene: Series B
Founders: Yiannis Kiachopoulos, Artur Saudabayev
Vertical: Machine learning/Health technologies
About: Causaly The platform maps correlations between large amounts of scientific data, helping healthcare professionals, experts and innovators focus on developing new medicines instead of spending months searching for data correlations. In July 2023, the startup raised $60 million Series B round led by Iconiq Growth with Index Ventures, Pentech and the EBRD, among others.
Hack the box
Last round: $55 million
Country: Greece/UK
Scene: Series B
Founders: Haris Pylarinos, Aris Zikopoulos, James Hooker
Vertical: Cyber security
About: Hack the box is a gamified software platform for cybersecurity talent development, certification and assessment. The online platform offers individuals, universities and businesses the opportunity to upgrade their hacking skills by giving them access to virtual experiential hacking labs where they learn by doing and rewarding them with points and badgers to progress in their training. At the start of 2023, the Greek startup farm a $55 million Series B round, led by Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, alongside Paladin Capital Group, Osage University Partners, Marathon Venture Capital, Brighteye Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst Fund.
Last round: $55 million
Country: Greece
Scene: Series A
Founders: Antonis Zois, Antonis Samothrakis
Vertical: Mobility
About: Founded in 2019, Greek startup Instagram aims to revolutionize car rental by providing a completely digital and hassle-free experience that allows customers to obtain their vehicles via a digital procedure that takes just a few minutes. In February 2023, Instacar raised a €55 million Series A round led by investors such as Velocity Partners, Autohellas/Vasilakis Group and the Olympia Group, with new investors such as Elikonos 2 SCA SICAR participating in the round.
Dronamics
Last round: $40 million
Country: Bulgaria/UK
Scene: pre-Series A
Founders: Konstantin Rangelov, Svilen Rangelov
Vertical: Drones, Logistics
About: Bulgarian cargo drone airline Dronamics recently became the world’s first drone transport company to obtain a European drone airline license, allowing it to self-authorize flight operations across EU countries. In February 2023, the startup raised a $40 million pre-Series A round from venture capital firms and angel investors from 12 countries, including Founders Factory, Speedinvest, Eleven Capital and the Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of the Tawazun Council.
FlowX.ai
Last round: $35 million
Country: Romania
Scene: Series A
Founders: Ioan Iacob, Serban Chiricescu, Radu Cautis
Vertical: AI
About: FlowX.ai is a Romanian company specializing in helping large companies streamline their internal processes through digitalization. In May, the startup raised $35 million in a funding round that marks the largest Series A in the Romanian startup ecosystem, led by London-based venture capital firm Dawn Capital.
TileDB
Last round: $34 million
Country: Greece
Scene: Series B
Founders: Stavros Papadoupoulos
Vertical: Big Data
About: TileDB specializes in a universal data engine that allows users to access, analyze and share complex data with great flexibility. In October, TileDB raised $34 million in its Series B funding round, with notable investors including AlleyCorp, Lockheed Martin, Intel Capital and Βig Pi Ventures.
Keboola
Last round: $32 million
Country: Czech Republic
Scene: Series A
Founders: Stavros Papadoupoulos
Vertical: Big Data
About: Keboola’s mission is to connect and integrate all enterprise data into an end-to-end Data Stack as a Service, while enabling customers to have full control over their data with a single platform. The startup recently raised $32 million in a Series A funding round, led by Viking Global Investors’ private equity business.
DRUID AI
Last round: $30 million
Country: Romania
Scene: Series B
Founders: Andreea Plesea, Daniel Balaceanu, Liviu Dragan
Vertical: Conversational AI
About: DRUID AI offers AI-powered intelligent virtual assistants that help professionals across various industries communicate digitally and with the end goal of reducing time spent leveraging data and increasing quality and creativity while reducing the costs. In September, the company announced the closing of a $30 million Series B round, led by TQ Ventures and with notable participation from new investors Smedvig Capital, Endeavor and Verve Ventures. DRUID’s Series B also received continued support from existing investors GapMinder, Hoxton Ventures and Karma Ventures.
Plan A
Last round: $27 million
Country: Bulgaria/Germany
Scene: Series A
Founders: Lubomila Jordanova, Nathan Bonnisseau
Vertical: Green technology
About: Plan A is a GreenTech company that developed a carbon quantification platform to measure, monitor and reduce the environmental footprint. In September, Plan A announced the successful closing of a $27 million funding round, led by US-based Lightspeed Venture Partners and with significant participation from global financial institutions including Visa, Deutsche Bank and Opera Tech Ventures , the venture capital subsidiary of BNP Paribas, in addition to existing investors and unicorn founders.
IP fabric
Last round: $25 million
Country: Czech Republic/United States
Scene: Series B
Founders: Miroslav Hybl, Pavel Bykov, Roman Aprias
Vertical: Big Data
About: IP Fabric is a Czech startup focused on network assurance, security assurance and multi-cloud networks. In June, the company announcement a $25 million Series B funding round to accelerate the automation of discovery, modeling and visualization of complex enterprise network infrastructures. The investment was led by the British company One Peak with the participation of the German Senovo and the Czech Presto Ventures.
Woltaïr
Last round : €20.5 million
Country: Czech Republic
Round: Series A
Founders: Daniel Helcl, Karel NaprstekJiří Švéda
Vertical: Energy technology
About: Woltair specializes in the sale, installation and servicing of electricity and heat solutions, including heat pumps and photovoltaic systems, in Europe. Founded in 2018, Woltair is part of one of the most notable Czech startups.
ElevenLabs
Last round: $20 million
Country: Poland
Scene: Series A
Founders: Mati Staniszewski, Piotr Dabkowski
Vertical: AI
About: ElevenLabs is a Polish startup developing AI text-to-speech software for creators and publishers. In June, the startup closed a $20 million Series A round co-led by entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross alongside Andreessen Horowitz, with other participants including Creator Ventures, SV Angel, co- Instagram founder Mike Krieger, Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Deepmind and Inflection AI, and Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media.
GenePlanet
Last round: €20 million
Country: Slovenia
Scene: Series C
Founders: Marko Bitenc
Vertical: Biotechnology
About: GenePlanet is a Slovenian biotechnology startup specializing in genetic testing and research. In July, the Slovenian biotech raised €20 million in a Series B funding round, led by growth equity firm BlackPeak Capital, to establish profitable operations in 50 countries over the next five years, stimulate new product development and invest in robust Big Data. Infrastructure.
